For parents
Seven questions to ask any research programme
Put these to any provider in writing before you pay. A programme that is well run answers all seven without hesitation. Where a website is silent, ask; the silence is information.
Why these seven. Every research programme describes its mentors and its output. Few describe what happens around the sessions: what is prepared before the first one, who besides the mentor is responsible for your child, what you will be told, what happens when something goes wrong, and what you hold at the end. Those are the questions that separate programmes that cost the same.
Below each question is why it matters, what a good answer looks like from any provider, and our own answer, which holds for every Aldevere student in every programme.
- 01
Is the programme written for my child before the first session, or is it a standard course?
Why it matters
A programme that starts from a standard course fits the student to the syllabus. One written for the student fits the syllabus to them. The difference shows in the first session: either the mentor arrives with a plan for this student, or the first paid hour is spent working out what the plan should be.
A good answer
The provider can tell you what will exist in writing before the first session, and can show you an example of it.
Aldevere's answer
It is written for the student before the first session: a syllabus, assessment brief and reading bank for a Field Seminar, a reading path and project plan for Research Scholar, and a written plan from the Academic Readiness Review for Academic Essentials.
- 02
Who, besides the mentor, is responsible for my child?
Why it matters
A mentor teaches. Someone else has to notice when sessions slip, when the student is struggling, or when the match is wrong, and has to be the person you can call. If that someone is "the team", ask for a name.
A good answer
A named role, separate from the mentor, with a stated responsibility for the student from the first session to the last.
Aldevere's answer
An academic adviser, separate from the mentor, who looks after the student's progress and wellbeing from start to finish.
- 03
What will I hear as a parent, and when?
Why it matters
Most of the programme happens between a teenager and an adult you have never met. What you will be told, and when, is the difference between visibility and a black box.
A good answer
Specific points at which you will hear from the programme, unprompted, and a stated way to ask in between.
Aldevere's answer
The schedule before the first session, progress updates at set points and whenever you ask, and a debrief at the end.
- 04
What happens if the mentor match is not working?
Why it matters
Matches fail sometimes at every provider. The question is whether the provider has decided in advance what happens next, or decides it after you complain.
A good answer
A stated remedy: a new mentor, a refund, or both, and the point at which it applies.
Aldevere's answer
We change the mentor.
- 05
What do we receive in writing at the end?
Why it matters
The work the student produces is one outcome. What the programme says about that work, in writing, is what a school, a university reader or a future mentor can act on. A certificate that does not distinguish attendance from completion says little.
A good answer
A written assessment of the work with next steps, and a certificate whose wording depends on what the student actually did, which the provider will confirm to anyone the student shows it to, such as a university.
Aldevere's answer
A written report on the work, covering strengths, next steps and evidence of growth, a recommendation for what comes next, and a certificate that says Completion only when every session was attended and the final work submitted. Each certificate carries its own number, and anyone the student shows it to, such as a university, can verify it at aldevere.com/verify with that number and the student's full name.
- 06
Will the mentor write a reference, and on what basis?
Why it matters
References are valuable and cannot be bought. A provider that promises one for every student has removed the reason a reference means anything.
A good answer
A clear basis: the mentor decides, and the programme says what a student has to have done to earn it.
Aldevere's answer
Mentors are glad to write one for a student who has attended and taken the work seriously. It is the mentor's decision, so it is earned rather than included in the fee.
- 07
What does it cost, and what does the fee include?
Why it matters
A starting price, an add-on for scoping, another for presenting the work, and a fee for paying in instalments can double a headline figure. The number that matters is the total for the programme your child will actually do.
A good answer
One figure, in writing, for everything needed to reach the finished work, before you are asked to pay.
Aldevere's answer
Research Scholar is $6,500, a Field Seminar $4,500 and Academic Essentials, a custom plan, from $2,000. One fee covers the whole programme, with no paid add-ons, confirmed in writing after the interview and before payment.
How to use the list
Send all seven to the provider in one email and ask for the answers in writing. You are not testing their patience; you are finding out whether the answers exist. A provider that has thought about its programme has them ready. One that has not will answer the first two and change the subject.
Then compare the answers, not the brochures. Two programmes with the same mentor level and the same number of sessions can differ entirely on what is prepared before the first one, who is watching, and what you hold at the end.
Our answers are above and on every programme page. If you want to put the questions to us in person, the interview is free and there is no obligation after it.
Now placing students for the November start. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and the interview can be booked once the application is submitted.
Individually designed research programmes for students aged 14 to 18, with one-to-one mentorship from researchers at Harvard, Oxford, NYU and Columbia. Every programme ends with a written report and a recommendation for what comes next.
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